United States Public Colleges Ranked by Highest Acceptance Rate

Below is a ranking of the 633 public colleges in the United States with the highest acceptance rate for freshman undergraduate applications. Athens State University leads the list by accepting 100% of high school students that applied.

Acceptance rate is a measure of the competitiveness of a school. Lower acceptance rates are more competitive and may require a higher GPA, SAT/ACT score, and other factors to be considered for admission.

List of United States Public Colleges Ranked by Highest Acceptance Rate
College	Acceptance Rate
Southeastern Louisiana University Hammond, Louisiana	99%
Metropolitan State University Saint Paul, Minnesota	99%
University of Southern Mississippi Hattiesburg, Mississippi	99%
Valley City State University Valley City, North Dakota	99%
Central State University Wilberforce, Ohio	99%
Penn State Scranton Dunmore, Pennsylvania	99%
Penn State Berks Reading, Pennsylvania	99%
University of South Dakota Vermillion, South Dakota	99%
Sul Ross State University Alpine, Texas	99%
West Texas A & M University Canyon, Texas	99%
Fairmont State University Fairmont, West Virginia	99%
Alabama State University Montgomery, Alabama	98%
California State University Stanislaus Turlock, California	98%
California State Polytechnic University Humboldt Arcata, California	98%
College of Coastal Georgia Brunswick, Georgia	98%
Emporia State University Emporia, Kansas	98%
University of Maine at Fort Kent Fort Kent, Maine	98%
New Jersey City University Jersey City, New Jersey	98%

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This list is updated annually based on the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Last updated: August 2026

Data source: IPEDS 2025 survey for academic year 2024/2025 - National Center for Education Statistics.